Pass the Ball, Dang it! T-RO T-RIUMPHS

[ethiostar]

Its hindsight but the Colts should have given the ball to Addai a lot on that last drive when Manning threw a pick. They had about 4 minutes left and they seemed to be in a hurry to score and tie the game. Also, Why risk a turnover/int?

Why would you want to score so fast and give the ball back to Brees with a couple of minutes left on the clock?

I didn't understand that.

 

[T-RO]

I agree. The Jets seemed to do very well with running the ball and limited in their passing game. They put much of the pressure on their defense to keep the scoring down so that they did not get forced into all out passing game. What works well for one team with a certain group of players and what works for another team is different.

We have been playing under the same rules for the most part for many years now and teams like Tampa Bay and Baltimore found ways to win a ring without one of the top passing teams in the league.

Tampa Bay and Baltimore were superior in PASS DEFENSE. That's just the flip-side of an elite passing team. Same with the Jets. None of these three teams had Super Bowl caliber offenses.

I am just as gung-ho for superior pass defense and I am for superior pass offense.

 

[T-RO]

Its hindsight but the Colts should have given the ball to Addai a lot on that last drive when Manning threw a pick. They had about 4 minutes left and they seemed to be in a hurry to score and tie the game. Also, Why risk a turnover/int?

I agree with your argument about consuming all the clock but you must understand that the Colts probably turn to ball over just as frequently running the ball as they do passing the ball.

It's easy to second guess but Manning leads his team to a TD in about 90% of those scenarios and the whole league knows (and dreads) it.

Give credit to a superior play by a Saint corner.

 

[T-RO]

How do you counteract a 4-man rush? You effectively run the football so that as another poster said, the defense isn't able to "tee off" on your QB.

Please, share with us your recipe for beating teams exclusively with the pass, since it obviously didn't work against Green Bay or Minnesota.

No formula is going to win every single game...esp. on the road against top teams. In case you didn't notice Green Bay and the Vikings both had pro-bowl quarterbacks.

Playing on the road against a dome team who has had a first-week bye---it is an unbelievable disadvantage. The d-line can t-off because they see the start of the play before the offensive players.

If we had played at home against the Vikings I absolutely believe we would have won that game.

 

[CF74]

If your strength isn't a good passing game and/or an exceptional pass defense you won't make it far.

Pick one, you are describing an incomplete team. If you have a stronger running game, average passing skills, and a decent pass defense you can go far.

 

[sonnyboy]

Just to conclude my season-long assault on the run-loving dinosaurs.

- For the second year in a row a team ranked 32nd in rushing made it to the Super Bowl.
- For the second year in a row the Super Bowl pass-run ratio was more than 70% pass.
- The Saints ran for less yards--only 55--yet won the game going away.
- The Colts tried to run the ball more than usual--and lost with a very meager night.
- 84 passes versus 31 runs - 73% of the game's plays were passes.

At half time Cowher and company were admonishing the Saints: throw the ball. They did. They won.

I agree it's a passing league. Has been for some time now, but here's what you're missing.

Running the ball enough in a given game or an entire season is important for two reasons.

1) The more often you run the ball, the better the chance your QB will not be injured.
2) The more often you run the ball and run it well, the better the chance is that your passing game's effectiveness will increase.

I've noticed the trend of increasing pass attempts in post-season play for some time now. Especially in the games where weather is little or no factor.

And the reason for this is simple. Passing the ball is the best way to move down field and put up points. And since their is no tomorrow, QB hits are of little concern.
But even in this case, there's sill a point of diminishing returns as that passing percentage approaches 70%.

 

[Doomsday101]

Tampa Bay and Baltimore were superior in PASS DEFENSE. That's just the flip-side of an elite passing team. Same with the Jets. None of these three teams had Super Bowl caliber offenses.

I am just as gung-ho for superior pass defense and I am for superior pass offense.

They were good all around defense that does not change the fact that just because you do not have an elite QB you can't win the SB it has been proven that you can. It may take a team with outstanding defense but and a top notch runner with an efficient QB as Tampa, Ravens or the NY Giants who in 2007 had the 4th ranked rushing team yet only were ranked 21st in passing there is more than 1 way to win in the NFL.

 

[goshan]

Its hindsight but the Colts should have given the ball to Addai a lot on that last drive when Manning threw a pick. They had about 4 minutes left and they seemed to be in a hurry to score and tie the game. Also, Why risk a turnover/int?

Why would you want to score so fast and give the ball back to Brees with a couple of minutes left on the clock?

I didn't understand that.

You mean like they way they ran it on third and goal with 2 mins left and got stuffed for no gain. That was a horrible call in my opinion.

 

[tyke1doe]

I agree with your argument about consuming all the clock but you must understand that the Colts probably turn to ball over just as frequently running the ball as they do passing the ball.

It's easy to second guess but Manning leads his team to a TD in about 90% of those scenarios and the whole league knows (and dreads) it.

Give credit to a superior play by a Saint corner.

Uh, do you have a stat to back this up? It seems you just pulled this one from the air to make your point.

If you have any stats that would suggest the Colts turn the ball over more on the ground than in the air, please share them.

Oh, and I agree with the OP. It seems the Colts/Manning wanted to rely on his arm more, even though Addai and Brown were making good yards on the ground. During his first Super Bowl run, Manning was much more patient with the running game. He didn't seem as patient with it this Super Bowl, even when it was working.

 

[tyke1doe]

You mean like they way they ran it on third and goal with 2 mins left and got stuffed for no gain. That was a horrible call in my opinion.

It was a terrible call because the play clock is an issue. A run that doesn't result in a touchdown keeps the clock going. An incomplete pass stops the clock.

At that point in the game, running the ball isn't going to help much when you need to stop the clock, score two touchdowns just to get to overtime and perserve all three of your time outs if you don't recover the onside's kick.

 

[ethiostar]

Uh, do you have a stat to back this up? It seems you just pulled this one from the air to make your point.

If you have any stats that would suggest the Colts turn the ball over more on the ground than in the air, please share them.

Oh, and I agree with the OP. It seems the Colts/Manning wanted to rely on his arm more, even though Addai and Brown were making good yards on the ground. During his first Super Bowl run, Manning was much more patient with the running game. He didn't seem as patient with it this Super Bowl, even when it was working.

Yep, Addai was averaging 5.9 yards per carry and Brown 4.5 yards per carry. Thats an average of 5.2 yards per carry.

 

[ethiostar]

Uh, do you have a stat to back this up? It seems you just pulled this one from the air to make your point.

If you have any stats that would suggest the Colts turn the ball over more on the ground than in the air, please share them.

Oh, and I agree with the OP. It seems the Colts/Manning wanted to rely on his arm more, even though Addai and Brown were making good yards on the ground. During his first Super Bowl run, Manning was much more patient with the running game. He didn't seem as patient with it this Super Bowl, even when it was working.

According to NFL.COM, during the regular season, out of 366 rush attempts the Colts had 4 turnovers. Thats an average of a turnover every 91.5 carries.

On the other hand, out of 601 pass attempts, they had 19 interceptions. Thats an average of an interception ever every 31.6 pass attempts.

Manning threw 16 of those interceptions. He was 393/571 with 33 TDs and 16 interceptions. Averaging an interception every 35.6 pass attempts.